This is the reason why EastEnders decided to recast Ben Mitchell (again)

"I'm really excited by what we've been storylining."

EastEnders fans were left stunned earlier this week when it was announced that Ben Mitchell would be returning to the Square - but not quite as they remembered him. It was announced that Waterloo Road's Max Bowden would be taking over the role, which makes him the sixth actor to play the character, EastEnders boss Kate Oates explained the reason behind the reacting to Digital Spy at last night's National Television Awards, as she admitted she hopes "people give Max a chance." She said:

"Harry Reid is an awesome actor and I think he did really well with Ben. I really enjoyed watching him. "[But] I just want to take the character in a different direction and that's why I've gone for somebody different and I know that recasts sometimes ruffle some feathers and I know that sometimes people think they won't gel with that character the same way they used to. "I just hope people give Max a chance, 'cause he's a great actor and I'm really excited by what we've been storylining. "It does shine a light on a different facet of Ben and that's why we've gone somewhere else. It's a whole new era and that's what we want to emphasise."

Ben will be returning to Albert Square alongside Lola Pearce and their daughter, Lexi. And while an exact date for their return hasn't been announced, EastEnders boss Kate Oates previously hinted at a "secret returnee" that would have a "really huge impact" this spring. During a Twitter Q&A earlier this month, she said:

"We've got some great returnees planned. "You already know that Lola's coming back so I'm looking forward to seeing her in the Square.

"We've got a couple more secret returnees coming as well which I won't tell you too much about now but I will tell you that there's one coming back in spring that I'm really super excited about.

"It's going to be for a fairly short stint but I think it's going to have a really huge impact so they're part of my big plans for 2019."

It was also recently confirmed that Robert Kazinsky would be reprising his role as Sean Slater after a decade away from the soap.